This Lovely Place with Charlotte Siems
Love Your Home, Look Your Best, Be Inspired
Snacks, desserts, casseroles and more. Nothing fancy, just real food that families love.
Homemade vanilla ice cream is a warm-weather dessert that usually shows up for cookouts and Sunday School class parties. We made three freezers of homemade ice cream for a rehearsal dinner in a barn a few years ago and it was a big hit. We usually only make it 3-4 times a year, so it’s a special treat. This recipe was given to me years ago by my husband’s aunt. I know that some … [Read more...]
Avoiding gluten doesn't mean you have to give up delicious treats, and these Gluten Free Chocolate Cookies prove it. When five-month-old Norah had persistent skin rashes, her mommy Melissa tried many topical treatments, natural and otherwise, in an effort to avoid a prescription solution. She finally discovered the link between her own consumption of gluten and her breastfed baby's rashes. For … [Read more...]
For those of us who grew up on cake mixes, it can be hard to find a homemade cake recipe that isn't dense or dry compared to a mix. This recipe for Mocha Chocolate Cake is the best of all worlds: easy to make, very moist and tender. The coffee flavor is subtle rather than strong, so if you have someone who is not a coffee fan it won't be an issue. It's also nice that you mix the dry … [Read more...]
Today's post was written by my oldest daughter Sarah, and she's sharing the details from her family Baby Gender Reveal Party! by Sarah Vera Since this is our second child we won’t be having any big showers or parties so we decided to do a small gender reveal party with a few family members to have something special to put in the baby book. There are lots of cute ideas floating around on … [Read more...]
Cold, damp weather goes hand in hand with drinking hot chocolate. It's the ultimate comfort drink for our family during cool weather. It is forbidden to drink hot chocolate during warm weather by the Tradition Police (the older children). You have to wait until at least the first official day of Fall to drink the first mug. When do we sip it? While listening to a book being read … [Read more...]
Most-Requested Item on the Menu by Charlotte Siems It is a fact that large families have lots of birthdays. September and October have more than their share in our family so we've been in birthday mode lately. When one of our three college guys comes home for a weekend or their birthday, they request their favorite meal. Is it steak and potatoes or shrimp and lobster? No, my friends. … [Read more...]
Some recipes lend themselves well to children helping, and Snickerdoodles are one of them. Kids love to form the little balls of dough and roll them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. These cookies are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, and they're a childhood comfort food. We haven't made them very often because the traditional recipe uses shortening, but we did a little experiment … [Read more...]
Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies by Charlotte Siems Warm, chewy, chocolate-y cookies. Just the thing for an afternoon snack with a glass of milk or cup of coffee on a chilly afternoon. Tastes like a brownie. The recipe originally came from an old favorite cookbook, but we adapted it to use less sugar. Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies 1 cup (2 sticks) butter 1 cups granulated sugar 3/4 cup packed brown … [Read more...]
